South Africa, New Zealand and Australia have joined the undefeated hosts India in surging into the top four spots so far at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023.

Cricket World Cup Bracket Challenge: Predict the semi-finalists

While the four pacesetters might start fine-tuning their form as they get closer to securing a semi-final berth, the six sides in the chasing pack can still hold out hope of turning around their own performances in time to snatch a spot in the knockout stage.

As we approach the pointy end of the tournament, here is what has gone right - and wrong - for each team so far at the Cricket World Cup:

Right: Dominant batters and bowlers

The hosts are riding high with six wins on the trot to start their campaign to claim a first Cricket World Cup trophy since the event was last held on home soil in 2011.

India have been particularly impressive when bowling first whether giving their star-studded batting group a challenging or modest target to chase down.

A well-balanced bowling attack have set up the bright start while claiming 56 of a possible 60 wickets at the tournament so far, with Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand and England all falling short of using their full 50 overs.

Chase master Virat Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma have then helped guide India to five second-innings victories with even the closest contest clinched with four wickets and two overs to spare against New Zealand.

Wrong: Hardik hits the deck

India have rarely been truly tested at the Cricket World Cup but can expect to face tougher challenges as the tournament progresses.

A lingering concern will be the fitness of Hardik Pandya after the all-rounder rolled an ankle while trying to field a ball off his own bowling against Bangladesh and has been sidelined ever since.

Mohammed Shami has been superb with nine wickets in two matches since coming into the side for Pandya, but having a fast-bowling all-rounder in the starting XI could be the missing ingredient for India as the stakes rise.

**Still to play:**Sri Lanka (2 November), South Africa (5 November), Netherlands (12 November)

Right: Bat first, score big

South Africa boast a long list of explosive big-hitters from opener Quinton de Kock to middle-order dynamos Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller.

This has helped the Proteas post four totals in excess of 300 when batting first, including a Cricket World Cup record-breaking 428 in their opening match against Sri Lanka.

Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen and all-rounder Marco Jansen have also clubbed imperious innings as South Africa have shown their deep batting line-up can take a stronghold on a match even before it hits halfway.

State of Play at the Cricket World Cup

Wrong: Controlling a chase

South Africa have had to chase a target on two occasions in their opening six matches at the tournament, and are fortunate to have even snatched a single victory from those encounters.

The Proteas fell 38 runs short against familiar foes Netherlands when chasing 245 in one of the upsets of the event, while they barely reached their target against Pakistan last time out.

South Africa almost threw away that match against Pakistan after being 250/6 then losing three wickets for 10 runs as they chased 271, in a reminder that a run chase is a test of temperament as much as technique.

**Still to play:**New Zealand (1 November), India (5 November), Afghanistan (10 November)

Right: Rising star shining bright

Rachin Ravindra has lit up the Cricket World Cup in his tournament debut to amass the third-most runs so far with 406 on the back of two blazing centuries and a pair of fifties.

The young gun has led the way for New Zealand alongside the more established Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway, as the trio brush aside any extra pressure that might come with skipper Kane Williamson again on the sidelines.

Living the dream: Red-hot Ravindra thrives in Indian limelight

Wrong: Fine margins in tight defeats

The Black Caps sit inside the critical top-four spots with a 4-2 record but they could have had one foot firmly planted in the semi-finals if only some critical moments went their way.

New Zealand have been right in the contest in each of their losses to India and Australia, pushing the high-flying hosts and their trans-Tasman rivals all the way.

The 2019 runner’s up looked on top at various stages against India, especially when having the undefeated hosts 191/5 while chasing 274, and surged late against Australia without quite doing enough to prevent back-to-back defeats.

**Still to play:**South Africa (1 November), Pakistan (4 November), Sri Lanka (9 November)

Right: Top-order turn into a force

The Australia top-order looked shaky when they lost early wickets against India, South Africa and Sri Lanka, but they have since turned into a key weapon with the openers combining for four centuries in the past three matches.

Veteran David Warner has two of these tons, as well as a quickfire 81 against New Zealand when part of a scintillating stand of 191 for the first wicket with the returning Travis Head.

Mitch Marsh moved from opening to first drop to accommodate Head’s inclusion as Australia now have a top-order trio more than capable of dealing with the new ball or taking control of a game.

Fit and firing Australia send World Cup warning shot

Wrong: Slow start puts campaign on the ropes

The five-time champions left themselves with plenty to do after dropping their opening two matches of the tournament to hosts India and a surging South Africa.

Australia looked sluggish as their injury-riddled line-up and attack stacked with three frontline pacers meant they might only be able to afford one more loss in their then seven remaining fixtures.

A return to form with four increasingly impressive victories have Australia well and truly back in semi-final contention, but upcoming clashes with arch-rivals England and close challenger Afghanistan are still crucial to their progress.

Still to play: England (4 November), Afghanistan (7 November), Bangladesh (11 November)

Right: Giant-killers brush aside the past

Afghanistan had only won a single match at a previous Cricket World Cup but have now added three more triumphs to their achievements at the showpiece event.

A stirring victory over titleholders England kickstarted their campaign but Afghanistan have since gone on to defeat other past champions in Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

With three wins in the bank and Netherlands up next, the rising Afghanistan can eye what once seemed an unlikely semi-final campaign.

Ingredients behind Afghanistan’s World Cup success

Wrong: Brittle middle-order comes at high price

While Afghanistan have surged back into semi-final contention with three wins from their past four matches, a crushing defeat to Bangladesh in their opening fixture looks even costlier as time goes by.

Afghanistan were building toward a strong total in that match when 112/2 but then lost their remaining eight wickets for 44 runs to leave their bowlers with too much to do.

Those same bowlers led by spin magician Rashid Khan have since warmed into the tournament to skittle England and Sri Lanka, but the two points all but handed to Bangladesh might now prove more pivotal late in the campaign.

**Still to play:**Netherlands (3 November), Australia (7 November), South Africa (10 November)

Right: Nissanka in fine form

Opener Pathum Nissanka has been one of the most consistent performers at the Cricket World Cup with at least a strong start in each of his past five innings.

Nissanka enjoyed a stretch of four consecutive fifties as Sri Lanka worked their way into the tournament, and might have equalled the record of five half-centuries on the trot in a World Cup if not for a faint edge when on 46 against Afghanistan.

As a reliable presence at the top of the order Nissanka will be crucial to Sri Lanka hopes of a late surge toward a semi-final berth.

Sri Lanka lose in-form quick to injury for remainder of World Cup

Wrong: Injury woes hit hard

Sri Lanka entered the tournament without star spinner Wanindu Hasaranga and have since been hit hard by injury as they set out to turn around a slow start to the campaign.

Skipper Dasun Shanaka (quad), in-form quick Lahiru Kumara and young pacer Matheesha Pathirana (shoulder) have since been ruled out, with Angelo Mathews, Chamika Karunaratne and Dushmantha Chameera taking their place.

But while those in the original squad and recent additions have battled hard for the 1996 champions and two-time runner’s up, it looks increasingly likely that Sri Lanka will fall short of reaching those same heights without their best XI on the field.

Still to play: India (2 November), Bangladesh (6 November), New Zealand (9 November)

Right: Afridi leading the attack

It took Shaheen Afridi a few matches to gain momentum at the Cricket World Cup, but the Pakistan quick is now flying as the leader of an in-form pace attack.

Afridi has 13 scalps to be one short of the most by a fast bowler at the tournament, while Haris Rauf and Hassan Ali are proving to be more than capable in support.

The fast-bowling trio have combined for 31 of the 42 wickets Pakistan have taken in six matches, but need others to have more of an impact for a late surge to be on the cards.

Pakistan coach warns against witch hunt against team management

Wrong: Comfortable top-order in need of a spark

The Pakistan openers and captain Babar Azam have each amassed a reasonable amount of runs throughout the tournament without quite setting it alight.

That has too often left the middle order needing to lift the run rate while running the risk of losing multiple wickets in quick succession that could derail a decent start.

Iftikhar Ahmed, Saud Shakeel and Shadab Khan have battled hard but have been unable to match the big-hitting and huge scores of some other middle-orders that have been a standout.

**Still to play:**Bangladesh (31 October), New Zealand (4 November), England (11 November)

Right: World Cup upset, rinse and repeat

Netherlands could take confidence into their clash with South Africa after an upset victory when they met at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup last year.

But few predicted another rousing triumph for Netherlands against a South Africa side in imperious form.

An unbeaten 78 for captain Scott Edwards kept Netherlands in the game, then four wickets for eight runs turned the contest for one of the greatest upsets in the history of the event.

Wrong: Fighting spirit falters

Few could blame the Netherlands attack for failing to fully contain Glenn Maxwell when the all-rounder smashed the fastest-ever century at a Cricket World Cup in Australia’s total of 399.

But it was a surprise to see a Netherlands outfit that had battled hard in every other match so far crumble in their chase.

Netherlands were dismissed for only 90, with the last five wickets falling for only six runs, with the 309-run margin the highest in terms of runs in World Cups and second-most across all ODIs.

Still to play: Afghanistan (3 November), England (8 November), India (12 November)

9. Bangladesh (one win, five losses)

Right: Pacer gives hope for the future

Bangladesh brought an experienced squad to India with several veterans including captain Shakib Al Hasan having one last shot at glory on the grand stage.

While only one win has flowed from there, Bangladesh might be most buoyed by the emergence and exuberance of pacer Shoriful Islam during the campaign.

Shoriful has a team-high eight wickets at the Cricket World Cup and seems set to be part of an exciting new ball partnership with Taskin Ahmed that will trouble opposition batters for many tournaments to come.

Wrong: Failure to turn fine starts into big scores

Bangladesh have quite a settled line-up that includes spinning all-rounders that allow them to rely on a batting group that goes as deep as veteran Mahmudullah Riyad coming in at seven.

But while six Bangladesh batters have reached a half-century at this Cricket World Cup, and Litton Das and Mushfiqur Rahim have both done so twice, only Mahmudullah has been able to turn that into a century as runs are too often left on the floor.

The talented but often inconsistent batters likely need to turn their nice touch into tons if Bangladesh are to find a second win at the tournament and steer clear of a bottom-place finish.

**Still to play:**Pakistan (31 October), Sri Lanka (6 November), Australia (11 November)

Right: Topley rises up before being struck down

It says a lot about England’s title defence that arguably their best performer missed selection in their opening match of the tournament and has now been ruled out through injury.

Reece Topley played a crucial role in England’s only victory so far at the tournament with 4/43 against Bangladesh, and also fought hard in a losing battle with 3/38 against South Africa.

The left-arm quick has the equal-most wickets at the event for England with eight despite only playing three matches, to at least suggest he will be a regular feature in white-ball campaigns to come.

Why England’s World Cup campaign has unravelled

Wrong: Experienced failures head long list of issues

The titleholders were broadly expected to feature at the pointy end of the tournament again, but England would be making up the numbers even if an unlikely late surge snatched a semi-final berth.

The list of issues that have led to England sitting at the bottom of the standings two-thirds through the tournament is long, but the lack of impact from their most experienced campaigners must be near the top of the concerns.

Captain Jos Buttler is averaging 17.5 from six knocks and the underdone Ben Stokes only 16 from three innings, too often exposing the lower order when the game is still up for grabs.

Among the bowlers the express pace of Mark Wood (four wickets at 69.75) and Sam Curran (two wickets at 70) has failed to fire, while Adil Rashid has been left with too much to do as the only frontline spinner making his mark.

**Still to play:**Australia (4 November), Netherlands (8 November), Pakistan (11 November)